City inefficiency

[shoestring]

A month or so ago the city repaved my bumpy inner city street. Although they did nothing for a couple of other streets that also needed repaving just a block away.
(These streets have needed paving for thirty years)
I was quite happy not having to dodge potholes out front of my house after they finished.

So late last week I watched surveyors painting little marks all over the corners of my street on this newly laid asphalt.
This week they dug it up. Brilliant.
Is this a make work project or what? Why can they not talk to each other?
No wonder taxes are rising.


Reminds me that just a couple years ago the C of Calgary dropped off a letter stating that we were getting new curbs. In two days. Just $2600 added to our tax bill. I walked the dog up and down the block and my house was the only spot that even needed anything done to the curbing.
Needless to say after a homeowner took a little survey of our street and found no one in favor of this curb replacement,we got on the horn and shut down this unneeded construction.

[Flames89]

You do gain from the raise in property value of a well maintained street though

[Bend it like Bourgeois]

Originally posted by fotze+Jun 15 2005, 07:59 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (fotze @ Jun 15 2005, 07:59 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Flames89@Jun 15 2005, 08:44 AM
You do gain from the raise in property value of a well maintained street though

That's exactly why much of what the city provides should have a user pay portion. Clearly the fairest way. He who gains the benefit of the service should pay for it.

You drive 500 km's a day on city roads you should pay more than the old lady who sits at home all day. [/b][/quote]
I don;t disagree, but in theory that's what gas taxes are for.

Unfortunately the feds use it for .... other things.

[shoestring]

Well my street is all ripped up again and not a crew in sight.
And like I said the curbs don't need fixing.
The properities around here are going up faster than a well maintained street can raise them.A double whammy ,the city rebuilds your curbs,charges you,your value goes up ,your taxes go up,and your location gains in value and your taxes rise,...some more.
Being inner city I'm glad I am not raising kids ,they would be bussed to McKenzie Towne and they couldn't play baseball without leaving the district.

I don't mind taxes and helping Calgary grow etc. I just wonder if one hand knows what the other is doing. I would be out of business if I continually went back to tear apart what I had just put together,governments don't seem to understand this.
I think I will pick up stakes and move to an abandoned mining town or maybe Lynn Ridge,no extra work being done there.

[Hakan]

Your taxes are being spent on sewage, water and power lines out to those brand new suburbs which are closer to Cochrane then the city centre.

But just remember, there's no such thing as urban sprawl in Calgary.

[Bend it like Bourgeois]

Originally posted by Hakan@Jun 15 2005, 10:05 AM
Your taxes are being spent on sewage, water and power lines out to those brand new suburbs which are closer to Cochrane then the city centre.

But just remember, there's no such thing as urban sprawl in Calgary.

Actually, sewage, water, and power lines are run on a cost recovery basis.

I think that's true of both new and old communities. If they dump a pipe in the ground, those on the end of it pay the costs.

[Muta]

A tax that I believe should be implemented is a municipal gas tax. The main purpose of it is to tax those who chose to use our municipal roads the most, such as the ones who choose to live in the houses(mansions) on the outer ends of the city.

Inner city residents, who obvisouly drive less on a day to day basis, would end up not paying as much as outer-city residents would. As a result, this would encourage higher rates of inner-city residency, and atleast attempt to address the issue of urban sprawl in Calgary.

This tax would further encourage evironmentally-friendly modes of transportation, such as bike riding, carpooling and public transportation. This would result in less congestion on city streets (and Lord knows we need that).

The additional funds that would be generated from this tax would then be used to finance the building of new train stations and other infrastrucutre initiatives.

The main purpose of this is then to tax people who use the roads the most.

Just some food for thought.

[Ironhorse]

Originally posted by Muta@Jun 15 2005, 11:42 AM
A tax that I believe should be implemented is a municipal gas tax. The main purpose of it is to tax those who chose to use our municipal roads the most, such as the ones who choose to live in the houses(mansions) on the outer ends of the city.

So that it can be collected by the feds and mis-appropriated also?

If the user taxes that are already levied on gasoline were to actually be used on fixing the roads in the municipalities / provinces where they are collected, in all likelyhood we wouldn't have this problem of crappy roads...

[Incinerator]

Originally posted by Ironhorse+Jun 15 2005, 06:17 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Ironhorse @ Jun 15 2005, 06:17 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Muta@Jun 15 2005, 11:42 AM
A tax that I believe should be implemented is a municipal gas tax. The main purpose of it is to tax those who chose to use our municipal roads the most, such as the ones who choose to live in the houses(mansions) on the outer ends of the city.

So that it can be collected by the feds and mis-appropriated also?

If the user taxes that are already levied on gasoline were to actually be used on fixing the roads in the municipalities / provinces where they are collected, in all likelyhood we wouldn't have this problem of crappy roads... [/b][/quote]
Or they could use it to get us a REAL transit system suitable for a city of 1 million+ people not 100,000+ people. :angry:

[4X4]

I've been scratching my head lately too, regarding the apparent 'make work' programs I've seen around town. My dad lives in the south end, just off James McKevitt. Two years ago, they built the other half (the northbound two lanes), then 6 months later, they tore it up & installed some kind of water or sewage line underneath it. WTF? A perfectly good, brand new road gets torn up within 6 months of its original construction because what? No planning?

Now, they are tearing up a bunch of curbs around his house. Curbs that my untrained eye saw as just fine. No cracks, no crumbling. The neighbourhood is pretty new. Meanwhile, many of the inner city streets are pothole riddled. Go figure.

I've got a friend in the tree cutting department. He makes a very good wage, gets union type benefits, and gets paid to sit in the truck if rain falls. Fine by me. Get this: he gets a bonus for SHOWING UP FOR WORK! Thats not all, he gets a second bonus for BEING ON TIME! These aren't 10 cent bonuses. They are like one or two dollar per hour bonuses. I guess the feds and the provincial gov't employees aren't the only ones that know how to squander taxpayer's money.

On the bright side, another friend of mine just got hired into the road planning department. She is a sharp one, so hopefully she'll help the current batch of boneheads see things from a taxpayer's perspective.

[V]

Originally posted by 4X4@Jun 15 2005, 12:04 PM
On the bright side, another friend of mine just got hired into the road planning department. She is a sharp one, so hopefully she'll help the current batch of boneheads see things from a taxpayer's perspective.

Don't get your hopes up. I do a lot of work for the City, and I started out with grandiose ideas of how to improve the system. Maybe I'm weak, but it didn't take too long before the beaureacracy beat me into submission.

[Bend it like Bourgeois]

Originally posted by 4X4@Jun 15 2005, 12:04 PM
I've been scratching my head lately too, regarding the apparent 'make work' programs I've seen around town. My dad lives in the south end, just off James McKevitt. Two years ago, they built the other half (the northbound two lanes), then 6 months later, they tore it up & installed some kind of water or sewage line underneath it. WTF? A perfectly good, brand new road gets torn up within 6 months of its original construction because what? No planning?

Now, they are tearing up a bunch of curbs around his house. Curbs that my untrained eye saw as just fine. No cracks, no crumbling. The neighbourhood is pretty new. Meanwhile, many of the inner city streets are pothole riddled. Go figure.

Oh man. I live there.

That road was built 1 year, and torn up for 3 straight years after that.

Un-freaking-believable.

They do the same with intersections. 1st year, 4 way stop. then lights. Then woops we forgot the wheelchair ramps. Then woops we forgot the something, because they rip'em up again.

[Muta]

Originally posted by Ironhorse@Jun 15 2005, 12:17 PM
So that it can be collected by the feds and mis-appropriated also?

If the user taxes that are already levied on gasoline were to actually be used on fixing the roads in the municipalities / provinces where they are collected, in all likelyhood we wouldn't have this problem of crappy roads...

Not by the feds; by the city. And mis-appropriation seems like quite the broad generalization.

I forgot to add in my original post that a decrease in property tax would occur as the tradeoff. Higher gas taxes, lower property taxes. This can only be encouraging for slowing the freight train that is urban sprawl. More residents would be encouraged to drive less and locate closer to downtown.

But you are right - if some of the federal tax on gas IS used to fix roads, etc. already, then this problem wouldn't exist in the first place.